Safety fender for automobiles



March 25 1924.

T. F. BUCK SAFETY FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES I 5 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Oct.17, 1923 snow Hot 720906 7 Hue/f March 25 1924.

T. F. BUCK SAFETY FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Oct. 17, 1923 5Sheets-Sheet 2 March 25 1924. 1,487,714

T. F. BUCK SAFETY FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed 0st. 17. 1923 5Sheets-Sheet 5 un... N aami l March 25, 1924. 1,487,?14

T. F. BUCK SAFETY FENDER .FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed OCc. 17, 1923 5Sheets-Sheet 4 gwlwnto z March 25 1924.

T. F. BUCK SAFETY FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Oct. 17, 1925 5 shew-shet 5 g um l I! I '2 4 wumHo a 770 6 2' ,zk r

Fatentecl Mar. 25. 1924.

THOMAS E. BUCK, on NEW cesTL'E, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY FENDER FOB AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed October 17, 1923. Serial No. 669,100.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. BUCK, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Castle, in the county of Lawrence and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSafety Fenders for Automobiles. of which the follow ing is aspecification.

This invention relates to safety appliances. particularly to safetyattachments for automobiles, and has for its object the provision'of anovel bumper in association with a fender proper adapted to be mount edupon the front of an automobile whereby to prevent running overpedestrians andto reduce the danger of injury to the front of the caritself in the'event of a minor collision.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character inwhich the fender proper may be raised out of its'normal position in casethe roads are sufiiciently rough and full of obstructions that theremight be danger of striking and breaking the fender, lever operatedmeans within ready reach of the driver being provided for the purpose ofeffecting the raising of the fender into inoperative position.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character in whichthe fender proper is so mounted that it may be quickly and easilydisengaged entirely from its support in case such is desired. and thateither side may be disconnected so that the fender proper may be swungto one side or the other out of obstructing relation to the front of thecar, so that'the operator may gain access to the crank for effectingstarting in case the necessity should arise and also in order thataccess may be had to the radiator in case it is desirable to remove orrepair the same.

Yet another object is the provision of a fender structure of thischaracter in which the support is adjustable so that the fender propermay be disposed at different distances in advance of the front of thema.

cient and'durable in use, and a general improvement in the art.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionconsists in the combination and arrangement of parts to be' hereinaftermore fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1' is a side elevation of an automobile equipped with the fender,showing the same in its normal or operative position.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the fender swung into elevatedposition.

Figure 3 is a front elevation.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing one end of the fender disconnected andswung, the supporting and operating chains being omitted.

Figure 5 is a detail side elevation of the movable portion of the fenderalone.

Figure 6 is a detail cross section on the line 6-6 of Figure 4, showingthe fender construction.

Figure 7 is a detailsection on the line 7-7 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a detail section on the line 8-8 of Figure 4. I

Figure 9 is a detail face view of the latch plate carried by the dash.

Figure 10 is a sideelevation of the hand rail support, parts being insection.

Figure 11 is a cross section on the line 11-11 of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a side elevation partly in section showing a modifiedsupport for the hand rail.

Figure 13 is an elevation of another modification.

Figure 14 is a side elevation of the fender structure applied to achassis of different form.

Figure 15 is a plan view thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates theframe bars of an automobile chassis, 13 represents the radiator, C thehood, D the dash, and E the front wheels. In carrying out my invention Iprovide a 'transverse'shaft 12 which extends through holes formed in theforwardly projecting ends of the frame bars A, which shaft is equippedat one end with a rotatably mounted crank arm 13 for a purpose to bedescribed.

Carried by the shaft 12 near the inner sides of the frame bars A arearms 14 which might in actual practice be pipe sections and which aremounted at one end and screwed into We 15 which are secured upon theshaft. The threaded ends of the arms 14-. are screwed tightly againstthe shaft 12 so as to prevent subsequent accidental displacement, alocking action occurring. Located between the Ts 15 and the forwardestreniities ot the arms l lis a transverse tubular bar to which islocated beneath the arms 1%- and forward ends of the. frame ba tubularmember is held by bolt .5? piipped with nuts 18. This mom: 1 it acts asa stop for preventing dropping or the arms lie. in case ol tailure of anadditional holding means to be described. The torwaro Eiltt.

o1 the arms it are threaded and passed through an angle bar 19 whichproyects later e ecured upon the ends of the bar 19 are i 1 e members 2iheld thereto by suitable riv s 2:2 or the like. These hinge members aret bracket-like torinati i t: a on and 11 space upper and lower 211d!registering holes 2 for the TQCBOUOH of removable hinge structurefurther inclr like r' ember J5 associated 1th eacii bra lzet or hingereembcrs 2i and h. hub portion 27 received between the i. and lowerelements 23, the hub member inga hole 28 for the reception or passa theremovable pivot pin. The free e the me] hers are bifurcated 29 an gagcdthereunder are block-like members 30 termed with depending stubs dunwardly extending threaded stubs which are screwed into the lower endsof the vertical arms 33 of a hand rail structure 34. Extending entirelyacross the front of the vehicle is pivot shaft 35 which l passingthrough transverse holes ber 30, accidental retraction hell by cotterpins 86 or the like. of this pivot shaft t-hro these 30 and through theopposite sides ct tie bifurcations 29 holds the members 30 associatedwith the members 26. The tender proper comprises a frame 36 of angleiron including side bars 38 which.

their lower portions curved forwardly downwardly and connected by aprefen ably integral cross bar 3. This frame is (TUYGTGfl by wire meshindicated 40 and it is of course apparent that the exact main nor ofconnecting the wires of the mesh with (unit the trams i'nay be variedwithin comparati' le limits. For the sake of illusti I however, I haveshown an inner tra 4.1 located against the inside of the angle iron barsforming the frame 37 and soured thereto by rivets 12 or the like. The

inner frame is preferably :t'orinec. with holes e which pass the wiresforming ie screen or mesh. While it is not. essential, preferable thatthe top at least of the be covered with rubber, as indiated at 14-. torreducing danger of injury 0 a person struck by or falling upon the Thesides 38 of the main frame 3? e each formed with a plurality of holesthrough selected ones of which may be ssed the pivot shaft 35.Obviously, it n aged through the uppermost uses for car upon which aperson may stand. and in order to hold it firmly arid pre ent it frombi'ealr' lg down from such weight. or from the weight of a personstruclc and falling on it. it is necessary to provide brace cans. Toaccon'iplish this I iii-cunt upon .ie ho l rail 3 collars 47 which arespaced apart. s shown in Figures 3 and 4 and wl ich tei'inina in carsbetween which i e is lo-ated a ring 19 held by a bolt 50.

Enrings are chains 51 which no in rearwa. and inclined direction andwhich have their other ends connected with eye bolts 59. secured to themember 12. Also connected. with the rings downwardly and forwardlyinclined chains 53 which have their lower ends connected with carried bythe frame 37.

Ordinarily. that is when the use of the tender is desired. the parts aredisposed as shown Figure 1. the forward edge of the tender properapproaching the ground comparatively closely i -Tliei'i passing overrough or stony roads wherein the obstructions are suiiiciently high thatthe tender might be stri and damaged, it is advisable that meansbe-provided for lifting the tender.

In carrying out this feature, I provide an elongated lever which ispivotally connected at 56 with the arm 13 and which terminates in a hook57 engaged with one end of a coil spring 58 to which is connected achain 59 trained over the bracket arm 46 and connected with a ring 60 atthe lower end thereof. The lever 55 through a slot 61 in the dash D andits rear end is equipped with a loop-like handle 62. (in the {are of thedash is a keeper plate 63 formed with a slot 6e registering with theslot 61 and also formed with a retaining lip or flange 65 with-which maybe engaged a lug 66 projecting from the underside of the lever. By thismeans it will be seen that when passing over a rough road the operatormay grasp the handle 62 and pull upon the lever 55 whereupon the tensionexerted on the spring 59 bearing on the bracket arm 46 will operate toswing the fender proper into elevated position, as shown in Figure 2, sothat there will be no danger of its striking against any stones or otherobstructions. The lug 66 operates to hold the lever in its rearmostposition so that the fender proper cannot accidentally descend to itsnormal position. i

It is quite apparent that the hinge structure comprised by the parts 26to 32, inclusive, might be varied and in Figures 12 and 13 I have shownalternate structures. In Figure 12 there is illustrated a T-shapedmember 67 replacing the element 26 above described and connected at oneend with a T 68 corresponding to the hub 27 and designed to be engagedbetween the upper and lower plate elements 23 of the hinge structure 21.This T-shaped member 67 has its other end terminatin in a head 69 fromthe lower end of which projects a stub 70 corresponding to the stub 31and for the same purpose, and from the top of which projects a threadedstub 71 corresponding to the stub 32 and which is screwed into the handrail. The head 69 has a hole 72 for the passage of the pivot shaft 35.

In Figure 13 I have shown a pipe section 73 carrying at one end a T 74corresponding to the hub 27, and carrying at its other end a T' 75 whichis screwed onto the threaded lower end of the hand rail, indicated at76. The lower end of the hand rail projects con siderably beyond the T75 to define an extension 77 which corresponds to the stub 31 or stub 7O. The T 75 is formed with a hole 78 for the passage of the pivot shaft35.

All of the above described structure is shown as mounted upon anautomobile chassis of that type in which the frame bars projectconsiderably beyond the front of the radiator. There are, however, othertypes of cars, notably the Ford, in which the frame bars terminate atthe radiator. In adapting my fender structure foruse is slidableupon'this type of vehicle, I employ elongated bars 79 which replace thearms 14 above described and which are disposed against the outer sidesof the frame bars F and secured thereto by bolts 80 carrying nuts 81,the bolts being introduced from the inner sides of the frame bars F. Theouter ends of the bars 79 carry the same angle bar 19 as above describedand the same adjusting nuts and all the other features are exactly thesame except that the transverse member 16 and shaft 12 are omitted, therocker arm 13 being pivoted upon one of the bars 7 9 by a bolt 82. Inevery other respect the con struction and operation of this form areexactly the same as in the first described member 21 entirely in caseany necessityfor such action should arise. Instead of removing thefender proper bodily, it is easily possible to remove either of thepivot pins 25 and after disconnecting the chains swing the fender properupon the other pivot bolt, as indicated in Figure 4, so that access maybe had to the front of the car. for cranking in case of failure of theusual electric starter, or for making any repairs to or removing theradiator.

From the foregoing description; and a study of the drawings it will beapparent that I have thusprovided a simply constructed, comparativelyinexpensive and easily installed and controlled fender device which willbe a great safe-guard to the public inasmuch as it will prevent personsstruck from being run over as they will be caught by the fender andcarried along until the car can be brought to a standstill Furthermore,the device will operate to prevent serious injury to the car itself incase of a minor collision so that the device is bound to be of benefitwhen considered from any angle.

IVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right tomake such changes in the form, construct-ion and arrangement of parts aswill not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of thesubjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A safety fender for automobiles comprising a pair of arms securedupon the for ward ends of the side bars of thea'utomobile frame, atransverse member extending through said arms, pair of arms rotatablymounted upon said transverse member and connected by a cross-barnormally resting upon the first named arms, a bar carried by the forwardends of the second named arms, U-shaped hinge elements carried by theends of said bar, forwardly extending members engaged within saidLl-shaped hinge elements and rcmovably held by pintle pins, an invertedU-shaped handrail connected with said last named members, a shaftextending through said last named members, fender carried by the shaft,and means for swinging the fender vertically.

2. In a fender structure, forwardly extending arms, a cross barconnecting the same, hinge members on the ends of the bar includingupper and lower ears, other hinge members including hub portionsdetachably connected with said ears, the second named hinge membersbeing bifurcated, block-like elements located within the bifurcations,upstanding stubs carried by said elements, a fender proper, and a shaftcarrying the fender proper and extending through said elements.

3. In a fender device, forwardly extending arms, a cross bar connectingthe same, hinge members at the ends of bar, other hinge membersdetachably connectedwith the first named hinge members and formed withbifurcations, elements engaged within the bifurcations,threaded stubsprojecting upwardly from the elements, a shaft passing through saidelements and bifurcations, a fender proper suspended from said shaft,and a hand rail having depending ends screwed upon said stubs.

4. In a fender structure, forwardly extending arms, a cross barconnecting the same, hinge members on the ends of said bar. other hingemembers detachably connected with the first named hinge members,elements engaged within the second named hinge members and provided withupstanding stubs, a shaft passing through said elements and second namedhinge members, a fender proper suspended from said shaft, and a handrail detachably connected with said stubs.

5. in fender structure, forwardly extending arms, a cross bar connectingthe same, hinge members on the ends of said hinge members detachabl-yconnected with the first named hinge members. elements engaged withinthe second named hinge members, and provided h upstand ing stubs a shaftpassing through said elements and second named hinge members, a fenderproper suspended from said shaft. hand rail detachablv connected withsaid stubs, means for swinging the fender. stubs depending from saidelements, and stop brackets on the fender proper engageable bar. a handrail of inverted U-shape supfrom said cross bar, chains stationmountcdat one end rearwar-"ly of the and connected at their ot er ends the handrail. and other chains conc ed withthe hand rail and with the forw rdportion of the fender proper.

t. in a fender, de ice. forwardly extendi 11;; arms adapted to bemounted at the forward ends of the frame bars of an auto1no bile. across bar connecting said arms, a fender proper pivotally mounted forvertical swinging movement and detachably connected with said cross bar.a bracket carried by the fender proper and projecting above the topthereof, a chain connected with the lower end of said bracket andtrained over t is upper end thereof. and a shifting lever extendingthro. h the vehicle dash and connected with said chain for swinging saidfender proper.

8. In fender device, forwardly extendarms adapted to be mounted at thefortard ends of the frame bars of an automobile. a bar connecting saidarms, a fender proper p-ivotally mounted for vertical swinging movementand detachably connected with said cross bar, a bracket ca ried by thefender proper and projecting ibore the top thereof, a chain connectedith the lower end of said bracket and trained over the upper endthereof, a shifting l ver extending through the vehicle dash andconnected with said chain for swinging said fender proper, a crankpivoted on one arm and upon which said lever is Divot-ed, a springinterposed between the lever and the chain, and means for-limitingdownward movement of the fender proper.

9. safety fender for automobiles comprising apair of EtlHiS secured uponthe forward ends of the side bars of the automobile frame, a transversemember extending through said arms, a pair of arms rotatably mountedupon said transverse member con nected by a cross-bar normally restingupon the named arms, a bar carried by the forward ends of the secondnamed arms, U-shaped hinge elements carr ed by the ends of said bar.forwardly extending members engaged within said U-shaped hinge elementsand remorably held by pintle pins, an inverted lJ-shaped hand-railconnected with said last named members, a shaft extending throughsaidlast named members. a fender carried by the shaft, means forswinging the fender vertically, depending stops carried by namedmembers,

brackets on the sides of the fender engageable with said stops forlimiting downward swinging movement of the fender.

10. In a tender device, forwardly extending arms adapted to be mountedat the forward ends of the frame bars of an automobile, pivoted armssupported from said first named arms, a bar connecting the pivoted arms,U-shaped hinge elements carried by the bar, other hinge elements locatedwithin said first named hinge elements, removable pintles connecting therespective hinge elements, a shaft passing through the second namedhlnge elements, a tender carried by the shaft, an upstanding guard-railcarried by the second named hinge elements, means for swinging thefender vertically, means for limiting downward movement thereof, andmeans for limiting downward swinging oi: the pivoted arms.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

THOMAS F. BUCK.

